


The Price They Pay

by krowko



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Alternative Universe - FBI, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Co-workers, Detectives, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Government Agencies, Government Conspiracy, Implied/Referenced Terrorism, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krowko/pseuds/krowko
Summary: (AU)After getting fired from his job as an FBI agent, Dimitri had a very specific set of skills, a desire for justice & revenge, and nobody to put for a job reference. So when his childhood friend Sylvain manages to snag him a job at his own place of work, The Blue Lion Press, Dimitri figures that working with his friends and grabbing a few coffees for nosy reporters wouldn't be so bad... until his boss turns out to be just as invested in his old case as he was.TL;DR: Dimitri works as an investigative reporter under Byleth, and they go after criminals despite only being journalists.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Dedue Molinaro, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my dear wife Ada for helping me out a bit, and to my beautiful ladies on the HH Discord server for supporting me and hyping me up enough to post this (finally). I will try to make frequent updates.

“Fired?!”

The room practically shook as shouts of dismay bounced off the walls. Wincing, the older of the two present straightened his posture, running a hand through his orange hair nervously. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly cut off.

“What possible reason could you have for firing me, Gilbert?!” the younger continued, slamming a clenched fist against the desk angrily. Pens rolled lazily onto the ground, likely planning on hiding under the desk to avoid the coming wrath. “You know damn well that I am one of the best agents this place has, and that I’ve been pursuing this case for nearly  _ five years _ !”

“Listen, Dimitri,” the older finally managed to interject as he placed the fallen pens back onto his desk. “I think you are a very diligent worker, and naturally quite talented, but…”

Dimitri raised an eyebrow, his scowl intensifying the creasing on his nose. “But?” he repeated. “Spit it out, Gilbert!”

Gilbert furrowed his brow. “You’d do well not to raise your voice with me right now, boy,” he scolded.

“...I apologize.” Dimitri said reluctantly. 

The broad shouldered man sighed, leaning back in his chair. He found a grey hair poking out from his ponytail and promptly plucked it as he gathered his thoughts. “Rhea and I have been discussing your place in this case-- and this company-- for a few months now,” he began to explain. “And while it is true that, yes, you are quite talented, you’re much too personally involved.”

Dimitri scoffed at that, folding his arms. “Of course it’s personal for me,” he stated. “I’ve known Edelgard since we were children. I know everything about her; is that not why you hired me?”

“Initially, yes, it was.” Gilbert replied after releasing a sigh. “Your personal knowledge of how Edelgard behaves was very useful in deducting her whereabouts and next moves. We would never have been able to get that somewhere else--”

“So then?!”

“Well if you would be so kind as to let me finish, Dimitri, I would be able to explain that your personal involvement is beginning to become more of a detriment to us than an asset!” the older man finally snapped. Instantly regretting it, he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and placing a hand to his head.

“You crave revenge too much, Dimitri. It’s getting in the way.”

A breeze picked up in the office from a cracked window and brought Dimitri’s guilt in with it, knocking the pens off the desk again. Dimitri watched them fall to the floor, then continued to stare at them, unable to look his mentor in the eyes.

His arms dropped to his side, his scowl turning into a frown of despair.

“Have I… really caused that much damage..?” he asked, his tone much more timid than previously.

Gilbert sighed, shaking his head.

“No, kid… at least, not yet.”

A wave of relief flooded through the blonde male’s blood as he closed his eyes. The moment didn’t last long, however, as another gust of wind blew through the cracked window and brought in grief and sorrow, sending a shiver up his spine.

“Except, of course, for Rodrigue…” he murmured, oceanic blue eyes fixated hard on the floor pens.

The older officer slowly nodded. 

“Rhea and I have agreed that we would like to avoid any more incidents like that one,” he agreed grimly. “Rodrigue may have given his life willingly, but not every agent we have here is as committed to the Empress Case-- or to you-- as Rodrigue was. If we don’t intervene now, it could cause not only more casualties, but unrest within the agency.” he tried to look into Dimitri’s eyes. 

“It doesn’t mean this is your fault. If I were you, I would be personally involved too. We just--”

“Please, Gilbert.” Dimitri cut him off, bending down to pick the pens up off the ground before standing. He looked out of the window at his coworkers, who were not-so-sneakily peeking in over their cubicles at them.  “You do not have to defend a decision that is for the greater good of the agency, even if it… does pain me a bit.”

Gilbert released one last sigh as he stood as well, folding his arms loosely across his chest. Through his white button up, Dimitri could see dozens of scars going every which way along his mentor’s forearms and biceps-- and those didn’t even compare to the damage done to his face, in scarring and in aging.

He wondered how many other agents had gained scars from The Empress’s group of terrorists… and he then wondered how many of them were caused by his own reckless behavior on the field.

“Is there…” the golden haired man looked out of the window, clasping his hands in front of him. He felt… bashful. He hadn’t felt bashful since he was a child.

“Is there no way I can assist from behind the scenes, or just be taken off the case and continue as an agent?”

“I’m afraid not.”

A sudden female voice startled both men, inciting a simultaneous jump and stiffened posture.

“R-Rhea,” Gilbert stammered, quickly gathering his composure and clearing his throat. “I didn’t expect you to visit at this time, ma’am. Apologies for the shocked response.”

The green haired woman offered an expression Dimitri couldn’t quite read. In one way, it looked like the warm smile of a leader who loved her employees. But if you squinted, it looked more like the knowing smirk of a boss who was notorious for firing underlings she disagreed with.

The clicking of golden heels behind him brought Dimitri back to reality, and he watched her move to close the window, then prop herself gently on the windowsill.

“No, Gilbert, I should offer mine. I arrived unannounced, after all.”

The sky blue eyed man chuckled nervously at that, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Right… I suppose so.”

White pantsuit, striking green eyes and dignified (perhaps entitled?) posture; the head of the agency was revered by many as one of the best leaders the agency had ever had. Despite this, she stayed far away from physical fieldwork-- especially combat. Unlike the many other agents Dimitri worked with for the past five years, Rhea had no scars to show for her accomplishments.

Sure, seeing isn’t always believing. But while the young man would always hold some respect for her, he never quite managed to trust her… or her rat of an assistant.

“While you do make a great agent, Dimitri,” Rhea began, folding her hands gently in her lap. “I believe that, even if we removed you from the Edelgard case--”

“The Empress case.” Dimitri corrected.

Rhea blinked, biting her lip for a moment before continuing.

“...The Empress case, as you call it,” she opened her eyes again, staring with hollow eyes right through Dimitri. “You and I both know you would still find your ways to get involved. It isn’t a risk I am quite willing to take.”

Gilbert, who was clearly very uncomfortable with the current conversation, coughed a bit dramatically. 

“Are you always this delicate with your word choice, Rhea?” he teased, making a brief side glance towards Dimitri reassuringly.

The boss sighed, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. 

“I don’t want to come off too harsh, but I think that’s how Dimitri best receives orders.” she replied bluntly.

“Well--”

Before Gilbert could get himself in any trouble, Dimitri cut him off. 

“No no, she’s right,” he forced a smile. “I… love this job. Passionately. But if I stayed, I would most likely continue to try and get involved in the case.”

Anger. His smile twitched.

“Precisely.” Rhea nodded, rising from the windowsill and moving to stand by Gilbert. “This wasn’t a personal or a rash decision; we all discussed it and agreed nearly unanimously.”

Resentment. His fists clenched.

“Almost?” the blonde couldn’t help but wonder who actually had his back.

Gilbert tensed at, quickly looking to the floor in order to avoid Rhea’s cold and unforgiving glare. He clenched his hands together. That was all the answer the poor boy really needed; it felt good to at least know his mentor tried to fight for him.

“It isn’t important.’ Rhea’s deflection meant nothing now, but it still felt like a bitter attack. Honestly, it probably was. The lady boss was undoubtedly the queen of psychological warfare, which was code for “making Dimitri feel like shit any chance she got.”

Hatred. He ran a hand through his choppy hair with a sigh.

“I suppose now is when you ask me to go pack up my things, right?” Joking was the only way Dimitri could think to react that wouldn’t result in the breaking of a window, a desk, or perhaps the bones of a shitty boss.

Rhea and Gilbert were both silent, both of whom were likely well aware of the capabilities of an angry Dimitri. 

This just made him angrier, and he snorted, crossing his arms. Fuck it, right? What were they gonna do, fire him? 

“Too afraid to speak to Agent Boar now, are we?” he began, looking into Rhea’s eyes. “Where’s all your wise words of wisdom, chief? Hmm? You have the gall to enter a room-- uninvited, might I add- and tell me I’m a danger to the company with no hesitation, but lack the courage to tell me to pack my things?”

“Dimitri--” Gilbert was barely given a chance to speak before the rant continued.

“Oh please, don’t worry, Miss Boss Lady. I may be dangerous on the field, but that’s  _ only  _ on the field, and that’s  _ only  _ because that’s what you preferred I do. I see now that, after you trained me to be your subservient boar, my free will became too much for you. Do forgive me, Your Highness, I’m truly sorry for experiencing emotions as any other human being does.” the man paused to catch his breath. Rhea, for the first time since they’d met, actually looked angry.

“Oh, and by the way, don’t close that window. Gilbert likes it open.” he looked to his mentor, and gave him a kind gaze. “It was a pleasure working with you. I hope we can cross paths again someday…” Rhea, on the other hand, received a very cold and pointed side glance. “But not here.”

The two behind the desk stood floored in silence as Dimitri promptly uncrossed his arms, gave a formal salute, and walked with his head held high out of the office. He felt great as he entered the elevator and made it down to the parking garage, ignoring the stares of his former coworkers. All felt fine, and he was on top of the world as he slid into the drivers side of his car.

Then, it hit him.

“Shit, I’m unemployed.”

  
  
  



	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a pal brings pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to my HoneyHive server pals for always supporting and helping me!

“Fired?!”

“Precisely what I said!”

A severely disgruntled Dimitri paced back and forth in the living room of his apartment, the shoes he hadn’t even bothered to take off leaving small scuff marks on the blue rug beneath him. 

“Their excuse was that I was, get this: ‘too personally invested.’”

The roommate and long time best friend of the blonde boy sat on the couch in front of him, his large hands clasped into fists as he propped his chin against them. One knee bounced to match the tempo of Dimitri’s pacing.

“Perhaps I  _ am  _ a bit overly invested, but that was what they  _ wanted  _ from me, right?” his arms were waving wildly as he ranted on. “They wanted the boar inside of me unleashed! A machine that had no fear and ample strength, with a burning hatred for the terrorist they so desperately want dead!” 

“This is deeply unsettling news,” the roommate finally chimed in, running a hand through his white hair. “The only reason I applied there myself was so that I could work alongside you-- to protect you!” he stood as well, his tall stature and broad physique making Dimitri look like a teenager.

“Perhaps I… should resign.”

Dimitri whipped his head around quickly at that, and he turned heel to go over to his companion, grasping his shoulders tightly. “Absolutely not, Dedue,” he argued. “I will not ask you to leave your job just because I was foolish enough to get fired.”

Dedue furrowed his brow. “You were not foolish, Dimitri,” he disagreed. “It is as you say: you only did what was expected of you. Besides that, your knowledge of Edelgard was another thing that made you an asset…” he placed his hand on his chin, looking thoughtfully out of their dusty window. “It sounds to me as though Rhea simply feels threatened.”

“No, no…” Dimitri’s tone became calm, and he released his friend before plopping down on the couch himself, running a hand through his easily tangled blonde hair. “I mean… despite my frequent go-arounds with Rhea, it wasn’t her decision alone to make. All of the upper-agents decided almost unanimously it was best that I go.”

Dedue sat beside him, placing a hand on his sagged shoulder. “Almost?”

“Gilbert.” Dimitri explained, giving his roommate a knowing look from the corner of his eye. “I could tell by the look on his face when Rhea said ‘almost’ earlier that he had tried to stick up for me… and I’m sure it’s quite possible that Manuela or Hanneman may have made a case for me as well.”

Dedue nodded slowly, sitting back in the couch and letting the cheap leather absorb his tension. Dimitri followed him, blonde hair spilling over the back cushions just slightly. The two men sat in silence for a few fleeting moments, staring out of that dusty window and watching the occasional passersby on the street. It was barely 4:30 pm, so most people were still at work right about now.

Kind of like how Dimitri should have been.

“Are you going to miss it?” Dedue asked, bringing the blue eyed man sitting beside him out of his thoughts.

A long sigh passed through his lips, and he closed his eyes as he leaned his head back over the edge of the couch. “I’d be lying if I said no.” he admitted remorsefully. 

Sure, it wasn’t an easy job. Working for the FBI was taxing both physically and mentally. The hours were irregular. The investigations were often long, and required immense amounts of brainpower. The missions were stressful, dangerous, and required a lot of training… and sometimes, people you considered to be your greatest friends ended up just… dying. Dying in an explosion, leaving the body so beyond unrecognizable that they couldn't even bring themselves to take it home for their family’s funeral. Or sometimes, something as simple as a brief shooting would occur, and you’d have to explain a friend taking a bullet for you to a heartbroken family.

It was a headache inducing, body exhausting, mental health taxing kind of job. But it was also thrilling, and Dimitri could never deny that he lived for those moments when he finally caught a massive criminal. 

Besides that, he had always escaped from his dark thoughts within the files of The Empress Case… the adrenaline he got when he worked on that case was a whole different kind of rush. 

The vast range of emotions he felt while trying to predict the terrorist group’s next move and being incorrect. Or the times when he was correct and caught up to them, only to find out that one of Edelgard’s little pawns was already a step ahead. She was a charismatic and inspiring leader, and some may say her cause was just. But her methods were truly evil.

...it began to hurt to think about it.

“I wish to resign, Dimitri.” Dedue repeated from earlier, this time more emphatically.

Dimitri sighed, heaving himself to slunch over and place his head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees as one bounced anxiously. He felt exhausted; the burst of confidence (and definitely some emotional adrenaline) he felt while telling off Rhea must have finally worn off. 

“Dedue…” he began, trying to find the right words to say.

Dedue was much like Dimitri in many ways, but most prominently in one: he was as stubborn as an ox. Once he made a decision-- especially one where his companion was involved-- he dug his heels in. Not much could ever sway the white haired man’s mind.

“Alright, listen,” the smaller of the two finally decided on his words, and he spoke them as he lifted his head from his hands to meet his roommate’s stare. “I know that no matter what I say, you will do what you want. But… don’t forget that we still have to pay rent on this place somehow.”

Dedue blinked at that, which was the most he ever showed when he was shocked, or suddenly remembered something he had forgotten about. Despite not showing the emotions he felt, Dedue may have ironically been one of the most emotional people that Dimitri knew.

“I guess I hadn’t taken your new unemployment as a financial hurdle to overcome into consideration.” he mused, breaking eye contact to stare at the wooden floor below.

“Yeah, I figured,” Dimitri chuckled. “But whatever happens, we can figure it out. Just… at least sleep on it before you make a decision, please?”

Dedue slowly nodded, closing his eyes. “As you wish.” he agreed, albeit reluctantly. He then stood, folding his arms and giving his blonde friend a smirk. “I don’t suppose you have an appetite after getting the boot, Dimitri? I can cook something, if you’d like.”

Dimitri’s eyes lit up, his mouth already watering at the thought of Dedue’s immaculate cooking. That was yet another possibly ironic aspect to his friend that he liked so much.

However, before he could even open his mouth to request his favorite dish, the door suddenly burst open. It swung open so fast that it smacked into the wall behind it, sure to leave that wall with yet another dent from the brass doorknob. There was only one person Dimitri knew who would throw him and Dedue’s door open like that: aggressively and unannounced.

“Hey fellas!”

A silvery voice for a spry friend rang in Dimitri’s ears, very loudly confirming his suspicions. He turned to glare at the man who had just walked into his home, only softening his gaze when he saw pizza boxes in either of his hands.

“Jeez, I can practically  _ feel  _ the grief in here,” the man continued, strutting over to the kitchen island and setting the pizza boxes down. He ran a hand through choppy red hair, a stupid smile on his face. “You guys clearly need something to lighten the mood-- and don’t worry, Dimitri, one of these has extra cheese on it.”

“Usually people enter a home with a hello, Sylvain.”

Another familiar voice followed the sound of the door shutting softly, attached to a confident blonde woman. She glared at her red haired companion, who simply shrugged. She then gave a more apologetic glance to Dimitri and Dedue, both of whom were still trying to process exactly what was happening.

“Nice to see you guys… too?” Dimitri finally spoke up, pulling his tangled blonde hair back into a short ponytail. He became a bit self conscious of his disgruntled and messy appearance.

Sylvain, sitting on a stool with a slice of pizza already in his hand, gave the man a quick once-over before tilting his head up a bit. “Y’know, you gotta work on your texting skills, man,” he teased, still wearing his award-winning smile as he took a large bite of pizza. “You can’t jusht shend shit like that and not exshpect ush to come running over.”

“Sylvain, is now really the time to make fun of the guy for the way he texts?!” the woman hissed through gritted teeth, punching the redhead’s arm not-quite-so-gently. 

Sylvain whined, shaking his arm. “Come on, Ingrid,” he squinted at her. “You were freaked out by it too, or else you wouldn’t have hurried to come with me!”

Dedue, who had been silent up to this point, tilted his head and gave Dimitri a puzzled look. “What are they talking about, exactly?” he questioned.

The blue eyed man shrugged, still a bit floored by the sudden arrival of his friends. 

“Oh, I’ll tell you what we’re talking about,” Sylvain scarfed down the last bite of his pizza crust, looking down at his phone. He scrolled for a bit before finding what he was looking for, exclaiming a quick: “Aha!” before he turned his phone to Dedue, who had to squint to read it.

The text read: “Just got fired. Devastated. Please do not reach out to me.”

The dark skinned man folded his arms, straightening his posture a bit as Sylvain slid his phone back into his pocket. “I see no issue with that text, nor do I understand why it would concern you so greatly that you felt the need to bring… pizza.”

Sylvain grabbed another piece, pointing it at Dedue with narrowed eyes. “The fact that  _ you _ don’t see an issue with it just proves my point.” he quipped, not breaking eye contact with the larger man as he grabbed a slice from the other box, thrusting it at a startled Dimitri.

“I will admit,” Ingrid contributed, nonchalantly taking her own slice of pizza as she rested her elbows on the island and gave Dimitri  _ one of those looks _ . “That text was a bit concerning. And while I do think Sylvain was a  _ bit  _ overly dramatic about this whole thing--” she shot the relaxed man another quick glare, which he brushed off with a snort. “I’m worried for you, as well.”

Dimitri had finally let everything sink in. He took a bite of the overly cheesy pizza Sylvain had gotten for him and let his shoulders untense. “Thank you for your concerns, both of you.” he said quietly.

The four lounged around in silence for a few moments, all but Dedue enjoying a slice of pizza. The lingering feeling of grimness in the air did have a certain weight to it, like Sylvain had said. It made the usually charming yellow lighting in the kitchen seem dingy, and the scattered dishes seemed to get on Dimitri’s nerves more now than they ever did. The honking of cars outside that he thought he had tuned out by now seemed much louder in his ears.

“Have you thought about what you’re gonna do?” Sylvain finally asked, his tone much more serious than it had been just a few seconds ago.

Dimitri released a long sigh. “I mean… kind of?” he faltered. His uncertainty beckoned him to reach for another slice of pizza; he grabbed two. “I  _ cannot _ stay unemployed, that much I know. And, well… I guess there’s that coffee shop below this place that’s always hiring?”

Ingrid swallowed her last bite of pizza. She looked like she had something to say-- her green eyes could never hide her true thoughts. Instead, she just chose to give Dimitri another one of  _ those looks  _ and wait for him to open up.

“I mean, of course it isn’t my passion or anything,” the blonde man rambled on, prompted by Ingrid’s knowing stare. “I barely know the difference between coffee and tea, other than the fact that one tastes like black water and one tastes delicious.”

That earned a chuckle from Dedue, who of course could tell you every kind of coffee bean from every coast of every continent on the entire planet.

“But… I mean, what else can I do? It isn’t as simple as applying to a similar job. There isn’t anything quite like the FBI out there, apart from the CIA, which I will be blacklisted from after my outburst. And besides that, the two are different in so many ways; I would never meet the qualifications.” he prattled on. “And I can’t just become a small-time detective at a local police department, either. For one, putting down ‘FBI’ on a resume is not exactly something we are allowed to do-- even if I could, there is no way Rhea would ever recommend me. Apart from that, having to find out whose being cheated on by whom, or search for little Jimmy’s lost cat… not to brag, but I think I have a much better skill set than that.”

“You would get bored of a job like that quite quickly.” Dedue agreed, nodding slowly.

Dimitri nodded as well, rubbing his temples as he released his thousandth sigh of the evening. “Besides, at least with the coffee shop, I will no longer have to worry about commuting, and allocate all my funds into paying for rent, food, and whatever weird trip Sylvain plans this month.”

Sylvain nearly choked on his fourth slice of pizza trying to get a quick word in. “Hey, you love those trips and you know it!” he protested loudly between coughs as he pounded his fist against his chest.

Ingrid rolled her eyes, jabbing her elbow sharply into a certain spot on Sylvain’s back that seemed to magically clear his airways. She waited for him to catch his breath before speaking.

“Is there really no better option for you, Dimitri?” she queried, running a hand through her gold locks to keep herself from fidgeting. Seeing her friends in distress always broke down her normally calm (and borderline rigid) demeanor.

Dimitri silently shrugged, looking at both she and Dedue. They looked equally as defeated as he, which wasn’t exactly reassuring to the young man.

But there was another person in the room who thought differently.

“Wait just a minute,” Sylvain piped up suddenly, drawing the attention of his other three companions immediately. “As it turns out, I might have an idea almost as good as this pizza.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!! Back with another chapter (late, sorry). I'll TRY to upload weekly from this point forth. I work frequent shifts, but that should be easing soon, so brace yourselves for more! I hope you all enjoyed :)

**Author's Note:**

> I know a few things were left kind of vague, but it was intentional. You'll find out about them all eventually. I hope you all liked it!


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